Dealing with the public

Course Description Public Interaction

Public Facing Role Professional Skills Training

Facilitator: David Smith, Leadership Coach

Opening Reflection

Ever asked yourself why some people appear to have a natural advantage working with difficult customers whilst others appear to have to drag themselves home, exhausted, after every engagement? What if I said that it's not type of person, it's just a matter of having the right tools and methods?

Could it be the case, in fact, that the stress you experience at the hands of disgruntled members of the public isn't unavoidable at all but preventable, given the right approach?

Course Overview

This powerful training is for professionals who meet the public on a daily basis, such as you in local government, retail, health reception or any job that requires you to interact with customers and clients across Australia. We're going to go beyond the typical customer service pleasantries here and develop actual skills for confidently and professionally managing challenging human interactions.

This course acknowledges that dealing with the public is all about emotional intelligence, practical communication skills and strategies to build personal resilience. Using interactive scenarios drawn from actual workplace experiences, participants will build a toolkit of responses that work in those moments, not just in theory.

We'll look at the psychology of what makes an interaction hard, and learn to detach someone else's bad day from our own professional response. And best of all, it is training in a model that is sustainable and does not leave you burnt out as a servant.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

Stay Ahead of the Game: Learn the signs your child uses or other children give to signal that a conversation is turning sour, so you can step in quickly!

Apply De escalation Tactics: Make use of language patterns and communications skills that defuse and stabilise volatile situations, while maintaining standards of professionalism

Control Your Own Stress Response: Use methods for yourself to control your own emotional state during difficult encounters

Establish Boundaries: Be straightforward about limits and policies while continuing to show empathy and respect.

Deal with Unreasonable Request: Deal with instances in which customers make requests for what is not possible steering the conversation towards what is possible.

Take a breath between customer interactions: Reset techniques to make sure one difficult encounter doesn't spill over into the next customer service interaction.

Know When to Call for Backup: Learn when and how to get a supervisor or security involved

What You Will Learn

Module 1: The Dynamics of Public Interaction

The psychology of complaining, Why do we complain?

When people are mad at you (even if you're not to blame)

Understanding social exchanges, under uncertainty Reading situations to anticipate the effects of interaction

Module 2: Strategies For Effective Communication

Exact words that de escalate without coming off jargonistic

Methods for confident relaxed body language

Effective listening traits that make other feel heard and appreciated

Module 3: Taking Care of Your Own Reaction

Breathing and grounding exercises to use in high stress moments

Your professional and personal response are two different types of response to the professional performance.

Developing the resilience to give your best performance when it counts most

Module 4: Appropriate response to specific challenging situations

How to handle a policy complaint you can't resolve

Handling people who do not take "no" for an answer

Reactions to personal attacks and misconduct

Module 5: Professional Boundary Setting

When and how to be smart about saying no without losing service quality

Managing disappointment with explanation whilst avoiding further frustration

Managing your professional reputation whilst being helpful

Module 6: Recovery and Reset Methods

Several quick and easy strategies for recovering between tough interactions

Avoiding emotional spillover to other customers

End of day routines to stop bringing work stress home

Module 7: Escalation Protocols

Recognising the situation where further support is needed

How to include supervisors without losing face

Documentation and follow up procedures

Course Summary

This training turns the public from a job stress maker into an opportunity for professional growth and real service. What we are teaching is not to suck up and endure difficult interactions, but to have genuine skill in dealing with the public and complex interpersonal dynamics.

The course recognises that Australian workplaces are diverse and that many employee are out in the public and meet people from all walks of life, sometimes at their most annoyed. We offer common sense, culturally specific solutions that are broadly applicable across a variety of communities and circumstances.

"People walk away with skills they can use right away, with a much deeper understanding of how we behave under stress," says the spokesperson, "And most importantly, knowing they are prepared for the challenges of our work facing the public. This isn't about transforming your personality, it's about acquiring professional skills that will make your job easier and your service stronger.

The desired result is sustainable excellence, giving great service and taking care of yourself, achieving positive results for yourself and all those you serve. Effective de-escalation training forms a crucial component of this approach.

Length: Intensive 1 day (7 hours) or 2 half days

Structure: Interactive with role play exercises.

Resources Learner workbook, summary cards and online resources